Acetylene-gas generator.



PATBN'I'ED MAY 19, 1903. A. HUNTKZ J'. 1). BAUGHMAN. AGETYLENE GAS GENERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 19, 1902. v

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No. 728,237. 7 PATENTBD MAY 19, 1903. A. HUNT -&;J. D. BAUGHMAN. AGETYLENE GAS GENERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JUI IE 19, 1902.

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NITED TATES Patented May 19, 1903.

ATENT FFICE.

ACETYLENE-GAS GENERATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 728,237, dated May 19, 1903. Application filed June 19, 1902. Serial No. 112,353. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we,ALVA HUNT and JAMES D. BAUGHMAN, citizens of the United States, residing at Pulaski, in the county of Davis and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gas-Generators and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention has relation to gas-generators, and more particularly to the generation of gas from the well-known substance termed carbid, and it consists of certain novel features of combination andconstruction of parts,the preferred form whereof will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

The object of our invention is to provide a gas-generator of the characterspecified which will be of very simple though reliably efficient construction and the parts whereof may be readily manufactured and assembled in their respective operative positions ready for use.

A further object of our invention is to provide very simple and efficient means to deliver a minimum quantity of water from time to time into the chamber containing the carbid, whereby a uniform quantity of gas will be produced without any attention on the part of the operator. 1

Other objects and advantages will be made hereinafter clearly apparent from the following specification, considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 shows, partly in section and partly in side elevation, our invention complete ready for use. Fig. 2 is a vertical central section, on anenlarged scale, of our improved generator proper. Fig. 8 is a central vertical section of our gas-generating machine complete, showing a slightly-modified construction.

In order to conveniently refer to the various parts of our invention and accessories deemed necessary to illustrate a practical application thereof to use, numerals will be employed, the same numeral referring to a similar part throughout the several views.

In carrying out our invention we provide a suitable tank or receptacle 1 of the usual or any preferred construction and of any desired size or capacity, within which we dispose the bell 2, open at the lower end, as is common, and designed to contain the gas and hold it in confinement until required for use. Suitable pipe connection, as indicated by the nu Ineral 3, leads to the burners or points of combustion and is provided, as is common, with a suitable cut-01f valve 4, said pipe 3 being extended through the bottom of the tank 1, as indicated by the numeral 5, and provided near its central portion with the verticallydisposed gas-delivering pipe 6, open at its upper end, whereby the gas will be delivered in the upper end of the hell 2. The tank 1 is filled nearly to its top with water, as indicated by the numeral 7, the water being designed to serve as a seal against the escape of the gas in the bell. We secure our improved generator 8 to the side of the tank in any preferred way, as by the brace 9, the lower end of which'is properly connected to the clamping-bar 10, which extends across the top of the generator or receptacle 8 and is held so as to rest directly upon the lid-section 11 by means of the eyebolts 12,'which engage the ears ,or lugs 13, -carriedby a contiguous part of the receptacle 8, the upper ends ofthe bolts being provided with thumbnuts or equivalent devices 14, whereby the bar 10 may be tightly clamped down upon the lid, as will be obvious by reference to Fig. 2.

We provide a lid-section which is adapted to entirely inclose the upper end of the receptacle 8, said lid being preferably concave upon its upper side, thereby providing the pan or vessel 15, which is provided with the outwardly-extending flange 16, which-flange isconnected by rivets or otherwise -to the collar 17, which is open upon its lower side to receive a gasket 18 of some yielding substance, as rubber or the equivalent thereof. By this arrangement the rubber gasket is designed to restdirectly upon the upper edge 19 of the receptacle 8, and it is clear that when said gasket is forced downward by the clamping-bar 10 the receptacle 8 will be rendered air-tight, and thus hold the gas against leakage. A metallic ring 20 is preferably placed directly on the upper edge of the flange 16 in order that the bar 10 may exert an equal force upon all parts of said flange.

The vessel 15 is properly connected with the gas-delivering pipe 21, the joint or point of union being gas and air tight to prevent leakage. The gas therefore is left to pass upward through the pipe 21 and thence downward through the pipe 22 into the pipe 5 and up through the pipe 6 or through the pipe 4, as may be desired. By the arrangement of the pipes just described, and illustrated in the drawings, it will be observed that the gas may pass directly from the generator to the point of combustion by opening the valve 4, the force of the gas itself combined with the weight of the hell 2 insuring that arequisite pressure will be established and maintained. If preferred, however, the pipe 3 may be independently connected thereto,so thatit will extend up into the upper end of the hell 2, and thus receive the gas that may be therein contained. The vessel 15 is made watertight and is designed to be kept more or less filled with water, which is fed downward drop by drop through the pipe-section 23 into the receptacle 3, wherein is disposed the desired quantity of carbid and upon which the water is thus delivered, so as to insure proper amount of gas shall be generated and liberated into the receptacle 8 and from thence delivered into the bell and the point of combustion. It will thus be observed that the water in the receptacle 15 will pass through the pipe 23, drop by drop, upon the carbid in the receptacle 8; but it is sometimes desirable to wholly check such flow of water, and this result we are enabled to accomplish by means of the plunger 24, which is properly mounted upon the controlling-lever 26 and provided at its lower end with the closure or stopper section 25, adapted to engage the open end of the siphon, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The upper end of the plunger 24 is pivotally connected to the controlling-lever 26, which is pivotally mounted upon the standard 27, erected at a convenient point upon the cover or upon the clamping-bar 10, while the free end of the lever 26 extends over toward the receptacle or reservoir 1 and lies in the path of the lower end of the rod 28, the upper end of which is secured to a contiguous part of the hell 2, as by means of the rivets or bolts 29. In order that the controlling-rod 28 may be reliably connected, so that the lower end thereof will always contact the free end of the lever 26 when the bell is moved downward sufliciently to permit such contact, we provide the guidebrackets 30, having a suitable aperture to loosely receive said rod. It is therefore obvious that when the bell becomes almost emptied of gas said bell will lower by gravity until the lower end of the rod 28 engages the free end of the lever 26, thereby elevating the plunger 24 and permitting the water in the receptacle 15 to flow into the open mouth of the pipe 23, thereby introduc- 1ng water into the carbid-receptacle and again generating the gas, when the hell 2 will be elevated suificiently to bring the rod 28 out of engagement with the lever 26, thus permitting the spring 31 to bring sufficient force to bear upon said lever as will force the plunger 24 downward, and thus close the open mouth of the siphon and prevent further passage of water therethrough. It will thus he observed that the action of the devices which we have provided for regulating the flow of water into the carbid-receptacle is wholly automatic in character.

In Fig. 3 we have shown a slightly-modified construction, wherein it will be observed that the siphon 23 is provided with a flared mouth 32, adapted to receive the bulb-like terminal 33 of the plunger 24, the upper end of which is pivotally connected to the controlling-lever 26, supported in position by the bracket 27. The free end of the lever 26 is connected to the spring 34, the upper end of said spring being connected to the arm or bracket 35, rigidly secured to a contiguous part of the bell 2, as by the bolts 36 or other means. We also provide the counter-spring 37, which is connected to the lever 26 in such a way that it will act to hold the plunger normally elevated. By the arrangement of the springs 34 and 37 it will therefore be seen that when the hell 2 becomes filled with gas it will rise and bring the force of the spring 34 to bear upon the lever 26 sufficiently to overcome the tension of the spring 37 and force the plunger 24 downward and close the flared mouth 32 of the pipe 23. When, however, the gas shall have become exhausted from the bell 2, the bell will settle downward sufficiently to cause the tension of the spring 37 to over come the force of the spring 34 upon the lever 26 and will draw the plunger upward or reopen the siphon and again permit the flow of the water to pass through the siphon, thereby again starting the generation of the gas, which when created will pass, as hereinbefore explained, into the upper end of the bell 2 and again cause the elevation thereof, when the tension of the spring 34 will be so increased as to overcome the tension of the spring 37, and thereby again close the mouth of the siphon.

The means herein described for automatically controlling the flow of water into the carbid-receptacle,and thereby generating the gas from said compound, it will be observed, are, while very simple in character, very efiicient and wholly automatic in action.

It will be observed that the various parts of our invention are of very simple though reliably efficient character and that such parts may be manufactured at a minimum cost and easily and readily assembled in their respective operative positions by any one, even though they be not especially skilled in the art.

The peculiar form of lip for the generator 8 prevents all leakage of the gas, inasmuch as the clamping-bar 1O tightly secures said lid in place by means of the yielding gasket 18.

While we have described the preferred combination and construction of parts deemed necessary in carrying out our invention, we

wish to comprehend in this application all substitutes and equivalents thereof, inasmuch as various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the I spirit of our invention.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In a gas-generator a suitable reservoir and bell having proper pipe connections; a generator located adjacent to the reservoir and suitable means to secure said bar tightly 2o downward upon said cover whereby the escape of gas will be prevented, in combination with a water-conveying pipe extending from the cup-shaped cover into the carbid-recep tacle and avalve located in the mouth of said pipe in the bottom of said receptacle and suitable means operated by suitable connec tions with a gasometer-bell adapted-to oper ate said valve, all combined substantially as specified and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

ALVA HUNT. t 7 JAMES D. BAUGHMAN.

Witnesses O. W.-MATTHEws, CHAS. H. MILLIGAN. 

